SAN DIEGO (CN) - San Diego's former city manager says the city owes him the legal costs of defending himself from an SEC lawsuit and state and federal investigations. Michael Uberuaga says the city defended other employees, including city councilors accused in San Diego's serial corruption scandals, and spent $26 million on audits and investigations that found he did not violate any laws in the course of the city's securities offerings, but hung him out to dry after the SEC sued him.
Uberuaga says the city has spent more than $450,000 to defend City Councilman Jim Madaffer in investigations brought by the SEC and state and federal prosecutors, and another $450,000 to defend Councilman Brian Maienschein, yet both those councilmen voted against helping him with his defense.
The SEC sued Uberuaga and others on April 7, alleging "that Uberuaga and others, while employed by the city and in their capacity as city employees, violated federal securities laws by reckless conduct," Uberuaga says in his federal complaint. He says he has spent more than $75,000 on legal fees already.
Uberuaga says, "The city has traditionally defended current and former employees in connection with government investigations so long as no criminal charge is filed against the employee."
The SEC sued him in a civil lawsuit, and the city owes him a defense, Uberuaga says. Uberuaga was city manager from 1997 until 2004.
Uberuaga is represented by Robert Lauchlan Jr. with McKenna Long & Lockridge.
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